By The Fire
by Hope Falls
Summary: Dawn's freezing, what happens when someone special helps to warm her up? complete


By The Fire (1/1) Rating: PG-13 Genre: Romance/Fluff Characters: Dawn/Dave Batista Summary: Dawn's freezing, what happens when someone special helps to warm her up? Disclaimer: I don't own anybody! Distribution: Ask first  
  
Dawn rubbed her gloved hands together as she trudged through the knee-deep snow, her car having broken down a mile from the cabin. She pulled her scarf around her face, the snow blowing mercilessly about, the wind picking up.  
  
"Jesus, Lord..." Dawn mumbled into the fabric, tucked tightly around her face, trying to preserve any warmth, as she was now only about 200 yards from the cabin. She had begun to lose feeling in her fingers. And to top it all off, she was late.  
  
"Why couldn't I have rode with him?" She muttered, her body beginning to steadily shake from the unyielding cold. She finally reached the building, her fingers unable to open the door because they had become stiff and numb through the gloves. Dawn sighed heavily, pounding on the door twice, waiting as her small frame shook in front of the door.  
  
Her eyes closed, feeling a small wave of heat as the door to the cabin was opened. "Dawn." Dave Batista spoke, looking down at her shaking frame, and led her inside to the warmth of the cabin.  
  
Dawn followed him inside, her body shaking from the cold as she dropped her bag on the carpeted floor. "H—hey..." She spoke, teeth steadily chattering.  
  
"What happened to you?" Dave inquired curiously, drawing her into his arms, feeling how frigidly cold she was.  
  
"My car broke down." Her eyes closed slowly, pressing her cold cheek to his contrastingly warm chest. She exhaled slowly. "So I walked."  
  
He shook his head silently, glancing down at her. "You should change out of those clothes." Dave studied her hair, wet from the snow, plastered to her face. He took in the sight of her rosy cheeks, her wet clothes. And he couldn't think, in his moment, that he had never seen her looking more beautiful.  
  
This was his best friend he was talking about. Dawn and Dave; nothing but friends. But his heart was telling him otherwise. He reluctantly released her before slowly unzipping her bag. "What do you want to wear?"  
  
"Something warm." Dawn laughed quietly, silently discarding her jacket, and wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Her entire body was freezing, down to the core. She didn't feel like her week could get any worse. Breaking up with her longtime cheating boyfriend, Chris Irvine. Her car breaking down in the midst of a storm, not to mention the fact that she had lost her cell phone.  
  
All was really going well for her.  
  
Dawn ran a hand through her slightly frazzled hair, taking a pair of flannel pajama pants and a sweatshirt from Dave. She offered him a slight smile. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna steal the bathroom for a couple minutes."  
  
And with that, Dawn disappeared down the hallway to change into a pair of warm, dry clothes. Dave watched her disappear and made his way towards the kitchen, turning the teapot on, preparing a cup of hot cocoa.  
  
Dawn emerged from the bathroom, walking back to the living room area, and pulling out a pair of slippers, picking up a blanket off of the couch, wrapping it around her shoulders and trudging her way to the kitchen where Dave was standing. "Any warmer?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow slightly as he turned his head to take in her pretty features.  
  
"Slightly." She managed a soft laugh, her face still tight from the coldness. "Warmth..." Dawn began as he set the teapot down, standing behind him with a small smile. "...is a luxury I took for granted." She finished, sliding her hands beneath his shirt, to rest against his toned abdomen, feeling his muscles tighten beneath her cold fingers.  
  
"Holy shit." Dave laughed quietly, pushing her small hands from beneath his shirt, taking her hand in one of his much larger ones, and her hot cocoa in the other, leading her over to the couch that was facing the fireplace. "Time to bring you back that luxury, huh?"  
  
"I would hope so." Dawn emitted a soft laugh as she curled up on the couch, her feet tucked beneath her body, leaning against him as she took the hot cocoa, taking several long sips. Her eyes closed, as though reveling in the taste of the cocoa, the warmth of Dave. She pulled the blanket over her lap, setting her mug down on the coffee table and looking up at him.  
  
"Dawn?" He spoke into the silence, before turning his head slightly to study her. "How have things been with you, I feel like we haven't talked... and I mean really talked in a while."  
  
Dawn shrugged slightly at his question. In all honesty, she hadn't really spoken to Dave about things. She had been keeping more to herself, and she knew that sometimes that could be a very dangerous thing.  
  
"Dawnie." Dave gave her an inquiring glance as he studied her closely. She exhaled heavily, before glancing up into his dark eyes and speaking softly.  
  
"I broke it off with him, I caught him in some very compromising positions with Steph." Dawn shrugged slightly. He had known she'd broken it off with Chris, but she had avoided talking about it.  
  
"You're okay?" Dawn nodded, placing a soft kiss on his cheek as though to reassure him. She was fine; she knew that she would be better off without that lying, cheating bastard. None the less, she hated the thought that he had cheated on her, and with someone she had once considered a friend.  
  
"Dawn..." Dave whispered, this time in a deep, low tone, his hand resting softly against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed slowly at the tone of his voice, her mouth slowly drying. The tone in his voice, the way her name sounded coming from his lips. It was making her want things with Dave that she knew she shouldn't. He was her best friend.  
  
"D-Dave..." Dawn's voice lightly cracked as she whispered his name, in response to her softly spoken name.  
  
"Shhh... don't say anything." Dave requested before placing his lips against hers, running his thumb slowly over her cheekbone. He'd waited so long for this moment. For the perfect moment. To kiss her, to love her. To let it be known.  
  
Maybe it was just a kiss, but he'd been holding that kiss back for years now. And now... now she was in his arms, and nothing in the world seemed more perfect than that moment. Their bodies were melded perfectly together, lips against lips, skin against skin.  
  
Dawn felt his tongue rubbing softly against her lips, as though asking for entry. She slowly obliged, allowing his tongue to dance sensually against hers. Dawn emitted a quiet moan, positioning herself in his lap, facing him, her hands on his face. Her eyes remained closed, as did his, and she reluctantly drew her lips from his.  
  
"Shit..."  
  
"Dawn..."  
  
"Don't." Dawn whispered, breathlessly, her forehead resting softly against his, her fingernails moving slowly along the nape of his neck as her body relaxed against his. Her eyes remained closed.  
  
"Dawn..."  
  
"I said don't, Dave." Her eyes reluctantly opened, resting on his before quickly looking away. "I don't need you to tell me that this is just another mistake."  
  
"Would you let me finish?" Dave whispered, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him. Dawn sighed, her eyes remaining on his.  
  
"Finish, then..." She whispered softly.  
  
"What I was going to say," He began, his voice with an intense fervor to it, "was that I'm falling in love with you, Dawn."  
  
"I..." Dawn found herself unable to regain control of her voice.  
  
"I love you, Dawn. I've loved you for a long time..."  
  
Dawn closed her eyes, again taking his lips with hers, her fingernails moving softly against his neck as she kissed him, she drew her lips back, just enough so that she could whisper to him, her lips brushing against his. "I—I love you too, Dave... I love you, too." 


End file.
